Napa to start construction on recycled water pipeline

NAPA >> Work on a five-mile pipeline to deliver high-quality recycled irrigation water to the Milliken-Sarco-Tulocay area east of Napa starts at the end of July, Napa County and Napa Sanitation District officials announced.

The Sanitation District Board awarded the $7.6 million pipeline construction contract to South Bay-based Sanco Pipelines, and a $2.4 million contract for a booster pump station to GSE Construction of Livermore, they said.

Set for completion in 2015, the pipeline is expected to initially deliver up to 700 acre-feet (228 million gallons) of recycled water during the summer. It will be large enough, though, to carry up to 2,000 acre-feet in the future, as more recycled water becomes available from Napa sanitation and more property owners opt for recycled water for their landscaping, vineyards and other crops, they said.

"This is great news for the MST area," District 5 Napa County Supervisor Keith Caldwell said. "The groundwater aquifer there is overdrafted by about 2,000 acre-feet per year and the day this project is put into service, it will be able to deliver enough water to offset up to 35 percent of that overdraft. That percentage will only grow as more people opt in to use the water."

Expressing pride in the Napa Sanitation District's partnership with Napa County in constructing this pipeline and expanding recycled water use, Jill Techel, Napa mayor and Napa Sanitation District Board chair, said it's especially important now.

"Especially in this time of drought, it is important to recover and reuse the valuable water resources we have available to us," she said. "This is a great example of what can be accomplished with residents and local governments work together to solve a common problem."

The new section of recycled water pipeline will run from the northwest corner of Skyline Park (on Imola Avenue) to the end of Third Avenue at Hagen Road, by the Napa Valley Country Club (a primary customer), officials said.

A booster pump station will be built on Napa State Hospital grounds, keeping water pressure high enough to reach the higher elevation locations towards the end of the pipeline, officials said.

A combination of federal grants and a 1 percent interest rate State Revolving Fund loan of $10 million from the Regional Water Quality Control Board will pay the approximately $13.3 million total project cost. Added state drought-relief grants have also been applied for, they said. The loan will be repaid over 20 years by recycled water users through a special Community Facilities District tax on their property tax bill, officials said.

"The regional approach to using recycled water gave weight to our applications," Caldwell said.

Although recycled water can only be used for irrigation and landscaping, there are many potential customers in the MST area, including many vineyards, officials said. Some 350 acre-feet of water annually has already been subscribed to, with significant capacity available for additional customers. One acre-foot will irrigate about three acres of vineyard for a year, they said.

"The Napa Sanitation District's $15 million investment in expanding its treatment process will allow us to deliver recycled water that has been treated to the highest standards," Napa Sanitation District General Manager, Tim Healy said.

Interested property owners can contact Deputy Director of Public Works Phillip Miller at (707) 259-8600 or mst@countyofnapa.org. As new members join the special district, each member's special tax amount is reduced accordingly. Participation is strictly voluntary.